Khan met directly with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit.

As a result of the Prime Minister’s meetings, Pakistan has reportedly invited Saudi Arabia to become the third partner in China’s $50 billion Belt and Road corridor of major infrastructure projects inside Pakistan, according to comments from Pakistan’s information minister as reported in Reuters.

Prime Minister Khan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Saudi Arabia “is the first country whom we have invited as third country partner in CPEC.”

According to one report, which cited local Pakistani media, a high-level diplomatic delegation from Riyadh including Saudi’s Finance and Energy Ministers will visit Pakistan in early October to discuss details of investments that would include a major petroleum complex at the port of Gwadar.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have historically close diplomatic, security, and trade relations.